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By Bonnie Budzowski, inCredibleMessages
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, books are becoming popular and powerful marketing tools for entrepreneurs. With the availability of print-on-demand and electronic publishing, consultants, coaches, small business owners, and professional speakers are realizing great dividends from making their expertise available in book form.
A book doesn't have to be a bestseller to boost your credibility and drive revenue. A book can generate publicity that drives people to your website. It can also generate speaking engagements that allow you to showcase what you offer to clients. Some entrepreneurs use a book as a sophisticated business brochure, costing roughly three to four dollars per impressive brochure.
One of my favorite book success stories features Barbara Thompson, a Pittsburgh native and weight loss surgery patient. Thompson wrote the first patient-to-patient book on weight loss surgery after stumbling on the fact that no such book existed. Once the book was finished, Thompson exhibited at the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and gave away copies of the book to physicians and others in the bariatric field. Ten years later, physicians still buy Thompson's book-by the case-to give to their patients.
Thompson's book, Finding the Thin Person Within, launched her career as a speaker. The book also opened opportunities to serve as a media expert for prestigious sources such as The Wall Street Journal, CNN and People Magazine. Today, Thompson has a newsletter distribution list topping 10,000, sells a mentoring program to fellow patients, and serves as President of the Obesity Action Coalition. It all started with one self-published book.
Of course, talking about writing a book is easier than actually completing a book project. Many entrepreneurs don't think of themselves as writers, and can't fathom fitting a book project into an already overloaded schedule. As a book mentor, coach, and co-writer, I work with entrepreneurial authors to achieve their goals of writing a business-building book. Here are some tips I share with clients to make the process easier:
1. Solve a specific problem. Avoid the temptation to believe, "If I write about my expertise, they will buy and read." People buy books that address their priorities and solve their problems. Think carefully about what problems your clients find expensive and frustrating. Pick one of these problems to address.
2. Stick to your focus. If you are a consultant, you probably have enough experience and expertise to fill a number of books. Trying to sort through all that material can be overwhelming. Accept this: No one wants to read everything you've learned over the last 20-30 years, and you can't write it all down anyway.
Choose a segment of your expertise, a narrow slice that solves a customer problem, and you'll have a project you can manage and, eventually, a book people are likely to buy and read.
3. Create a plan that "chunks" your work. It's much easier to write a 500-750 word "chunk" than it is to write a chapter. Plus, a plan divided into chunks makes it easy to know where to begin again after an interruption.
Think of each chapter as a series of chunks. For example, you might start each chapter with a client story that highlights an aspect of the problem you are addressing. Follow this client story with a description of the process you use to solve the specific aspect of the problem covered in the chapter. Next, provide another client story highlighting how the intervention worked. Next, give a list of tips or exercises the reader can try.
4. Keep your eye on your reader. Identify one or several people you know who can represent your clients and target readers. Post the photos of these folks in front of you throughout your whole book development and writing process.
Keeping a few real readers in mind helps you stay on target, guiding you regarding what to include and what to exclude from the book.
Writing a book is a big project, but with good planning, you can create a book that provides real value to your clients while showcasing your expertise and marketing your capabilities. Nothing distinguishes you from your competitors like a book with your name as author on the cover. Now is a great time to get started.
Learn more at www.inCredibleMessges.com
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